Inter-Galactic Warfare
by Teck 3
Summary: 100 years after The Great War, the Milky Way Galaxy has achieved relative peace, but that is about to change when an old Republic Warship drifts into sensor range. Soon, the now Galactic Empire is going to have a new issue to address, and it is far more powerful than it appears. Rated M because I can and I will.
1. Introduction and a Festival

It has been one hundred years. One hundred long, pain staking years since the end of The Great War. **The Human-Covenant War**. Many things have changed since March of 2553. To start, humanity has become one of the two major species that practically run the entire galaxy. This is a task they share with their Sangheili allies. Both species and their respective governments, the **Unified Earth Government** and the **Swords of Sanghelios** , have risen to new highs as a result of their alliance and continued research into Forerunner technology. The other species of the former Covenant for the most part have kept their roles in society, albeit treated with a bit more dignity than before. Everyone plays a role, and everyone plays it well.

As for the galaxy, far, far away...

Things are looking grim. The **Galactic Empire** continues to conquer more and more of what remained of the free galaxy. The **Rebel Alliance** , though scoring many major victories in recent years, have been continuously pushed farther and farther back by the unwavering numbers of the Imperial War Machine. The Empire has even gone back to using Clones for their military, not for any particular reason other than just to have even more troops to throw at their enemies. All in all, the **Andromeda Galaxy** , may find itself in complete subjection in the next few years.

That is, unless some outside power stands in to assist...

 **March 3, 2653  
** **Planet : Sangelios  
** **City of Sanghalios, Vadam keep  
** **100-year anniversary of The Great War  
** **Arbiter Thel' Vadam**

It was a lovely day, or as lovely as a day can get on a planet in a tertiary star system. Thel stood proudly in his chambers, in front of a mirror.

 _No..._

 _No..._

 _No..._

 _Hell no..._

 _No..._

This was a repeating thought in the Arbiter's head, as he tried to find just the right stance to hold during the proceeding set to be held at dusk that night. Every year since the fifty year anniversary of **The Great War** , a festival was held. It would begin with a choreographed stage play to represent and reenact the war long past, after which a military parade would be held, and finally a great feast full of foods from every world across the galaxy.

This was a festival that Thel had participated in for the last fifty years without fail, and he did enjoy it a great deal. There was just one problem...

"HOW DOES SHE DO IT! How can Harper be hold such a commanding posture, yet I can't hold one for more than five minutes?" Thel shouted suddenly out of frustration at his inability to find a commanding posture that is comfortable and that he can hold for the duration of the festivities. Every year, he felt as if he was just slouching in front of everyone, while President Megan Harper held such a commanding stance. It irritated him to no end.

"Arbiter," cam a voice that called Thel's thoughts to reality, "all preparations of tonight's festivities have been completed." Said Kran' Denalm, Thel's personal assistant, so to speak.

"Understood Kran, I shall be ready within the hour." Replied Thel.

"I feel I must also inform you that President Harper of the UEG will be arriving shortly."

"Thank you, I shall greet her personally upon her arrival."

"Understood Arbiter."

As Kran left, Thel continued to find just the right pose to hold during the festivities.

 **1 hour 37 minutes later**

Thel stood, poised and ready to meet his long-time ally and good friend upon her arrival to his home world. As per tradition, which has been cemented in the last half century, the leaders of both the Sangheili and Humanity would be present during the proceedings. This year would be no different.

Soon, Thel's wait for her arrival would end as the sonic boom of a small ship entering the lower atmosphere could be heard in the distance, and in a minute's time, that ship would land on the platform upon which Thel stood. As the heavy, pressurized door of the **Royalty-Class Private Transport Vessel** opened, a familiar female voice could be heard speaking in fluent Sangheili, "Arbiter Thel' Vadam, it has been, what, a month since we last spoke face-to-face." President Megan Harper of the UEG then appeared from the interior of the transport, greeting her ally, friend, and mentor.

"Yes, one month." Responded Thel, "But a year since we last got to do so without the conversation being broadcast across the entire galaxy." He stated that last part with an almost playful tone in his voice.

"Right, we haven't had a true heart-to-heart in a year. So, how have you been doing on a personal level?"

"Quite well, actually. Sanghelios hasn't endured many troubles this year, so I have had more time to relax. How have you been, my friend?"

"I've been doing fine, though my son has enlisted into the UNSC Marine Core, which worries me."

"Ah, so Jeremiah has chosen a military career. No need to worry about him, Megan, he is a strong young man. He will no doubt be victorious in all his battles, and bring honor to your family name."

"Wish I had the same confidence in him that you did. And speaking of kids, how has Mahkee been doing? Last I heard, she was still learning basic swordsmanship."

"She has still yet to master the sword, however she has excelled in almost everything else. She can speak seven languages, she can pilot a fighter, she can disassemble, maintenance, and reassemble every weapon we have given her, blind folded, and is a master in all other academic fields."

By this point, the pair had left the docking pad and entered the main hangar, almost to the main entrance, where two Sangheili honor guards stood. Upon seeing the two galactic leaders, they moved aside and opened the large stone door to the inside of the Vadam Keep. All the while the Arbiter and President continued their talk without missing a beat.

Inside the prestigious home of the Arbiter, a world of natural and cultural beauty and majesty was communicated. On both sides of the passage they now walked through, artificial waterfalls flowed into small ponds with lush plant life consisting of the most beautiful specimens from across the galaxy. Between each waterfall stood a brilliantly carved statue of Sangheili heroes from long ago. The ceiling itself was an intricate carving of arches and metal beams, with power conduits running across in in a beautiful manor, bathing the passage in a light similar to the summer son on Earth's north American continent. The floor was a hard-light bridge above a small river that seemed to flow towards the hangar. Further along the passage, the two passed over a bridge that gave a beautiful view of the Sanghalios skyline. A beautiful metropolis stood at the base of the mountain upon which the keep was built into. Being built using traditional Sangheili architecture, and using Forerunner, Sangheili, and Human technology in its construction. It seemed like an Incan city had been taken from South America, placed on Sanghelios, made it the size of New York, and rebuilt using modern materials.

Coming into the main structure of the Keep, they entered the main assembly chamber, which was currently devoid of all life other than the Sangheili and Human. The chamber as well had the waterfalls, but only two of them on the back wall, and much larger than the ones in the passage. Between the falls existed a sort of throne, with several Forerunner systems built into the seat, with the seat itself clearly being intended for Sangheili use. The rest of the hall resembled the Pantheon, with the pillar design being highly exaggerated. At the other end of the massive chamber was a gargantuan stone and steel door.

As they came into the chamber, Thel and Megan had their conversation, which at this point had transitioned to the pains of the two aging leaders, was interrupted by the voice of a female Sangheili. "Father! Can I speak to you for a mome-..."

Mahkee paused once she caught sight of the **UEG Madam President** , then became ecstatic. "MEGAN! It's been so long since I last saw you! How is Jeremiah doing? Has he enlisted yet? He always talked about how he wanted to become a **Demon**." As she spoke, her tone changed drastically from the official, honorable tone most Sangheili use, to that which resembled an excited teenaged girl, which she essentially was.

"It is good to see you too Mehkee, and by god you have grown." Said Megan, trying to quell the young Sangheili's unintentional rant.

"Oh, yes, Jeremiah did enlist already, my child, and is well on his way to becoming a **Spartan**." Added Thel. "Now, what was it you wished to speak about Mehkee?"

"Of course, Father, I was wondering if I could forgo participation in the parade tonight. I honestly don't feel I'm right for the role." Stated Mehkee, trying to maintain her air of authority, and failing miserably.

"Absolutely not, you are representing our family in that parade. You must participate, just as your brother before you has." Replied Thel, mildly annoyed.

"Mehkee, don't worry about it. It's not hard to just walk down a street, now is it?" added Megan, trying to sooth the Sangheili female.

Mehkee started to complain more, but was quickly cut off by her father saying "Enough! Mehkee, you only have to do this once. Just bare with it, because you're not getting out of it. Now go prepare yourself. I will not have you presented as you are now. Festivities are to start in three hours, be there on time." And with that Mehkee was ushered off to her chambers to prepare for her inevitable showcase to the entire galaxy.

"Jesus Christ Thel, go easy on her. This is going to be the first time the entire galaxy will be watching her. She's bound to be nervous."

"She is my daughter, as such she is representing the **Vedam Heritage** , as well as my skills as a father. I need her to be strong, if only for tonight. I want the public to see her in a positive light, as she may very well be my successor as Arbiter."

"I understand. So, what were we discussing before we were interrupted?"

And with that, the **Arbiter of the Swords of Sanghelios** and the **President of the Unified Earth Government** continued their previous conversation while wandering seemingly aimlessly through the keep, as last minute preparations were made for the festival.

 **March 3, 2653  
** **Planet : New Hephaestus  
** **Orbital Sensor Station, Researching other Galaxies  
** **Joint -UEG Colony  
** **Lt. Samuel Gunther – UNSC Navy**

Boring. That is the one word that would describe the life of Samuel H. Gunther over the last seven months. Since his arrival on station, he has been tasked with observing nothing but sensory data 24/7, and honestly he would rather shoot himself instead. It was a shame that the station staff weren't to have side arms on at all times, unlike aboard starships and military installations.

"Survey log, March 3rd, 2653. Lieutenant Samuel Gunther. Reporting sensor data of observations of Galaxy M110 have been completed. No signs of intelligent life, however sensors show a multitude of potentially habitable worlds. Now beginning with scans of the Andromeda Galaxy. Personal Note, can someone explain to me why we didn't start our scanning of other galaxies with the Andromeda Galaxy, I mean come on, it's the biggest one! End note. End Log."

With that, the computer stopped it's recording and filled away the audio log. The colored man who just made said log now turned to his Sangheili **superior officer** , who came in just as he finished his personal note.

"I must agree with you on that last bit, it would have made more sense for us to start our scan with our largest neighbor." Stated the **S.O.**

"Yeah" was Gunther's only response as he went back to monitoring his sensor console, looking for any **Ghost Planets** that may exist away from a host galaxy while the sensors themselves repositioned to scan the gargantuan galaxy next door.

"Lieutenant, I wish to inform you that celebrations will be held down on the colony soon. You may want to get to a shuttle to the surface if you intend on going"

"That's the thing, sir. I don't intend on participating this year. Think I'll just stay here, you know. Watch the sensors, in case we pick up on anything."

"Thrilling. Well, I gave you the option, don't blame me when you die of sheer boredom here. Have a nice time." And with that, the Sangheili left.

"Yeah, boredom. Not like that stupid play isn't just as boring as watching the sensor reading day by day." Gunther said to himself.

 _Nothing_

 _Nothing_

 _Nothing_

 _Nothing_

 _Nothi- wait, Something?_

There was a small blip on the screen, lasting for three seconds as the main sensors kept moving. This caught Gunther's attention. Quickly he moved to one of his side consoles, and positioned a secondary sensor toward where he had seen the blip, and sure enough it was right there.

"What the hell" he said under his breath. It was the strangest sensor reading he had ever picked up on. It was some kind of triangular shaped object, barely the size of the standard UNSC light frigate. The only reason he noticed it was because he had never heard that sound before. If he had to guess, it was some kind of small ship, though the triangular design was a bit odd.

"Hmm... Where did you come from. I wonderrrrrr... Oh, well, that's lucky." _Seems the damn thing is actually drifting into our galaxy. This may be the first definitive piece of evidence of life beyond our galaxy! Holy shit, I might get to name a fucking species!_

 **March 3, 2653  
** **Planet : Sanghelios  
** **City of Sanghalios, City square  
** **100-year anniversary of The Great War  
** **Arbiter Thel' Vadam**

As the final of the three suns set, lights came on all around the square. The massive commercial area was completely decorated in all sorts of ways, each aspect representing one of the species that fought in the war. _Infuses on FOUGHT._ All around could be seen Ung'goy fabric tethers of almost every visible color, Kig-yar metal trinkets lined the windows of every shop, Lek'golo stones of rainbow-like colors had been placed on every corner ( and it was surprising they even had decorations at all), Huragok lights had been placed in just the right locations to give a low level, frosty blue lighting all around the square, Human made floating lanterns floated in midair like balloons, and of course the Sangheili had placed up banners of almost every clan in the species.

"Always a beautiful sight to see." Said Thel, now speaking English.

"And always will be" responded Megan, who stood next to Thel.

The Arbiter and the President, as per tradition at this point, were standing on a balcony a story and a half above the ground. The balcony was adorned with the flags of both factions. On the ground stood several hundred people of every species imaginable, and not just those of the former covenant and humanity. Dozens of different lifeforms stood together in the square awaiting the start of the show, which would be performed on the relatively large stage in the very center of the plaza.

Soon, the crowd quieted down, as a Human in simple work clothes and two Sangheili in standard military uniform came up onto the stage. The Human crouched down, facing away from the two Sangheili, who came to face each other. A second later, a Kig-yar raider came onto the stage, passing between the two Sangheili and coming to a halt mere centimeters behind the Human. The raider then quickly grabbed a small object out of the Human's back pocket, a single 9mm bullet. The raider again took another object from the Human, this time, a Beretta 92 handgun. At this point, some rather colorful holograms began to appear, right around the Human's fist. With a hauntingly loud thud, the Human 'punched' the raider, sending it flying right to the feet of the Sangheili.

This is when the real show begins. Suddenly, the Sangheili ignite their energy swords and charge at the Human, who pulls out a hunter's knife and blocks the attack. Now, the begin to fight, endlessly, for roughly fifteen minutes in a display of skill reminiscent of both species undeniable combat skills and honor. The whole thing had the audience mesmerized as the comparative dance went on, representing nearly every battle that was fought in the war, with the Human continuously being pushed backwards.

No matter how many times anyone saw it, nearly everyone could agree that it was always a breath-taking performance to observe. However, to the eyes of the Arbiter and President, it has overtime become an event to scrutinize and be critical of, all for the sake of having a conversation that didn't revolve around the usual politics they had to discuss. It was tradition for them, and many others in their position as this scene was being played throughout the galaxy, in nearly every city with any population of Sangheili or Human.

Soon, it was found that the Human in the performance was pushed back to the edge of the stage, now at the point of the legendary **Battle for Earth**. It was at this point that the most mesmerizing part of the performance would happen, lasting no longer than a couple of seconds at best. A moment known as **The Clash**. The Sangheili brought their Swords to strike down on the Human for a killing blow, and the Human, now wielding a MA5B assault rifle, moved to block it. Block it he did, as the bottom of the rifle and the blades of the swords collided, producing the most colorful and oddly beautiful light show ever, in all its sparking glory as Hyper Heated Plasma clashed with Reinforced Hyper dense Titanium.

The Sangheili were pushed back after this, and just about fell too. Instead, however, the Human caught them, and hoisted them back onto their feet. Now, the performance just sort of raps up in a blur.

After **The Clash** , most really just stop paying attention. At that point, nobody cares.

 **March 3, 2653  
** **Planet : New Hephaestus  
** **Orbital Sensor Station, Researching other Galaxies  
** **Joint -UEG Colony  
** **Lt. Samuel Gunther – UNSC Navy**

Gunther's excitement was through the roof. Finally, something to actually do besides stare at a blank monitor. This strange, triangular ship, was clearly coming from the Andromeda Galaxy. If this were true, then it is possible for there to be more of these vessels within the galaxy itself. If that part is true, then it is likely that the entirety of the Milky Way Galaxy will be jumping at a chance to contact the entirety of the Andromeda Galaxy.

His excitement was not lost on the other occupants of the station, however, as those who decided to skip the celebrations on the surface have noticed his abnormal activates, and the excitement of the usually depressing sensors officer. As such, one of the many Jiralhanae on the station, this one named Worlium, was a kind of friend of Gunther, and was generally more mature than Gunther too, which is really saying something about how immature Gunther is.

"What is going on with you? Usually you are more... grounded. Is there an issue?" Worlium asked as he came up to Gunther's station.

Gunther, on his part, was only half listening to his brutish counterpart, and simply responded with, "I believe I may have finally found evidence of life beyond our galaxy! Some kind of ship like object is apparently drifting into the Milky Way from Andromeda. I think we should go take a look."

Worlium was slightly shocked. He never thought that they would be able to find life in another galaxy. Well, there was that one small galaxy that probably held it at one point, and then the **Flood** came. But that was besides the point.

"What is your evidence, if it is viable we must report it to command immediately!" was Worlium's response.

From that point onwards, the duo went about the task of confirming the claim and organizing the evidence. Slowly, the rest of the skeleton crew left on the station came and joined them in the task. After three hours of this, the main sensor array finally focused on the Andromeda Galaxy itself, and what they found shocked them all. There were more vessels, a lot more.

 **March 8, 2653  
** **Planet : Reach  
** **UNSC Military Headquarters, General Ballard's office  
** **Board Meeting on Unknown Life  
** **General Hao'shing Ballard**

The General was a bit overwhelmed at the moment. The supreme commander of the UNSC army was being briefed on a developing situation about the findings of the New Hephaestus Sensor Station. Life in the Andromeda Galaxy. Who would have thought.

He was currently in meeting with the rest of the supreme commanders of the branches of the UNSC military, as well as the Chief Executive Officer President Megan Harper. The only sense of comfort he got about the situation was that the rest of the executives' present were just as concerned as he was.

They were dealing with a new situation, and a new military. Once the alien vessel that was detected came into the galaxy, it was isolated, stopped, and observed for two days by ships from nearly every world on record in the Milky Way. The first thing that was noticed about this vessel from another galaxy, was that its shape was very ineffective for literally any kind of purpose in space. The second thing was that it had guns of some kind mounted on its hull in excess. Clearly it was a poorly made warship.

"So, who do you intend to send in to make contact with the vessel?" was Ballard's first sentence uttered in the briefing, as that was all he really cared about.

"Well, I do believe a Spartan Team would be a smart choice on this one. We don't know anything about these people other than they can't build a ship worth a damn. They could still have very powerful weapons to make up for that." Was the suggestion of Admiral Ossoff, the Supreme Commander of the UNSC Navy since Lord Hood retired.

"Yes, I agree, but we should also use a team that has diplomatic abilities. It may be possible to negotiate with these people." President Megan decreed.

To be honest, it was a good idea. They know nothing of these people, so they would need to be prepped for either scenario.

"Consider it done. Fireteam Pegasus should be suited for the job." Replied General Sarah Palmer, Supreme Commander of the Spartan Corps.

"Then it is settled, Fireteam Pegasus will board the vessel and find out as much information as they can." Was the final comment of the briefing.


	2. Boarding Party

**March 8, 2653  
** **Planet : Tinstof-2587b32 (Jupiter Class Giant)  
** **U.N.S.C. Red Rover, Allied Fleet surrounding unknown vessel  
** **S-Deck Specialized Hangar  
** **Spartan Haley-1212 Col. Haley 'Mdama**

Haley 'Mdama is a... unique case.

Raised by a Human Mother and Sangheili Father, Haley was taught from a young age about war and diplomacy. As such, she has a bit of a knack for both.

As a young girl, she was always told stories of great heroes from the days of old, like the tales of Kaidon 'Refumee who defeated an entire army single handedly to save his keep, and King Arthur, who brought peace to many lands in his reign. These stories had always inspired her, and now, at 27 years of age, she was on the verge of becoming one herself.

As of this time, she has successfully become a Spartan, one of the most feared and respected soldiers in the galaxy. She has served on many worlds and ships, gone on many missions, and even leads her own fireteam, dubbed Fireteam Pegasus. Now, she and her team were about to go on one of the most important missions in her career.

She was to board a completely unknown alien ship from another galaxy, and possibly make first contact. But still, the ship was very poorly designed. It looked like a big quesadilla, and a quesadilla wouldn't survive a MAC round from any distance or yield. Still, it had to be done.

"Alright Pegasus, we are about to board an unknown alien vessel. We don't know if they are hostile or not, or if they are even alive. We are going in armed, but don't fire unless fired upon, understood?" Haley briefed her team.

Fireteam Pegasus as a whole is entirely female. Five women, Daniel-2287, Joan-7834, Albina-0666, Riya-1738, and Haley herself. The team most commonly used the standard loadout of an assault rifle, a battle rifle, dual SMGs, and dual Magnums, all mounted on standard issue Generation 3 Mk. 8 Mjolnir armor of standard green camouflage color. All in all, the only way to tell who was who were the large seals on the helmets of each spartan. In the case of Haley, it was the seal of the 'Mdama family keep. A Colo skull with a traditional energy sword behind it.

"Sir, Yes Sir" was the reply of the rest of the team as they began to board a pelican dropship for transport.

The plan was simple, the Pelican would fly them to what appeared to be a command super structure. From there, the Spartans would find the nearest airlock, and access the ship. At that point, it was a standard first contact situation, find any crew and begin diplomatic communication. If no crew is found, grab any data from the ship's computers and bail. Simple as that.

 **Five minutes later**

Soon, Haley found herself standing on the hull of the most poorly designed ship she had ever laid eyes on. The hull itself was very flimsy under her feet. Though to be fair, it looks like it had seen better days. The vessel was riddled with scorch marks and hull breaches. It seemed an airlock wouldn't be necessary, as she and her team stood before a massive hole leading right into, what she assumed was, the bridge.

"All clear, no movement. Entering unknown vessel." Riya reported in in her Indian-Harvest accent. Now, they all walked into the ships damaged hull with their magnetized boots putting them on the ceiling of what seemed to be the bridge.

Below, or rather above, them was a pit full of consoles with a walkway going over it. In the aft section of the room was a partially separated room with a large circular holographic table, which seemed to be a communications and planning area. Behind that was some kind of blast door.

Fireteam Pegasus proceeded to walk to the blast doors, and then made their way to the walls, and from there to the actual floor.

"Ok, now what?" Daniel asked as she knocked on the door with here armored fist. As if in response to the stimuli, the blast door suddenly opened, revealing yet another blast door. "Well that was creepy." Was here next statement.

"Eyes open girls, we don't want any surprises." Haley said.

"Hold up, you expect us to go in there? What if it closes behind us and we get stuck?" Joan asked, obviously not to keen on the idea of this vessel.

"We are Spartans. If doors don't open, then we rip them open!" proclaimed Albina in the most Russian accent anyone has ever heard, while cocking the slide action on her magnum.

"Well said Albina, now if everyone is done bitching, let's get going. I don't want to be in here long." Was the final thing Haley said before entering the rest of the vessel, Fireteam Pegasus close behind.

As they came towards the second blast door, the one behind them shut. An obnoxiously loud hissing sound could be heard for roughly three minutes, as the Spartans' sensors read the filling of an atmosphere. Surprisingly, they found it to be the same mixture as used on UNSC Starships. Once the atmosphere had been restored, the second blast door finally opened, allowing the Fireteam inside.

What they found inside was a massive, free-floating mass of dead, humanoid forms dressed in white armor, some with black scorch marks or blood stains, but all most certainly dead.

"Oh my god. That is just messed up!" Joan exclaimed at the presence of the bodies.

"Yeah, but who are they. HEY! RIYA, DON'T JUUUuusst... oh shit." Haley stated as she watched Riya remove the helmet of one of the bodies. What was found underneath was the face of a male human being with military cut hair, and a look of absolute horror on his face. "How is that possible?"

"Maybe they just wandered that far out?" was Daniel's theory.

"Unlikely. Humans as we know them would never design a ship this poorly." Albina stated. "From the looks of them, it seems they may be an independently evolved version of modern humanity. I suggest we take a body back for study. This could be a ground-breaking discovery."

"Whatever the case, we should press forward, see if anyone is alive. If not, we find the computer core and get out. And yes, we are taking one of the bodies, and Joan, you get to carry it." Ordered Haley, at the expense of the least hardened member of the team. Luckily, Joan already learned better then to question orders like that. If she did, they would only get worse.

As they continued on through the ship, they found more and more bodies, all with the exact same face, down to the last detail. That was possibly the most disturbing part of the whole thing, that this many of the same face existed.

Soon, they found themselves entering a room with a large number of tanks and beds with strange equipment surrounding them. Likely the vessels medical bay. If they were going to find any signs of life, it would probably be here. "Hey, looks like one of those tanks at the back has a body in it." Riya commented, drawing the entire team's attention to the lone filled tank. What was in it was unlike anything they had seen before.

In the tank was the body of some kind of humanoid alien with blue skin and odd head-tail looking things on it, suspended in a mucus green fluid. On the front of the tank was a powered console with an odd series of characters displayed on it, and one big, red, button.

Now, you would think that nobody in their right mind would press a red button of any kind that they didn't know anything about, least of all a spartan. But oh no, that is surely not the case with Albina, who just walks right over and presses it immediately.

"God, damn it Albina, don't do shit like that." Joan criticized her Russian team mate.

"What is the matter, scared?" was the only reply before the tube started making a mild thumping sound, as if a mechanical heart was beating. Soon, there was a visible difference in the amount of the fluid in the tube. Not long after that, the alien lifeform was simply hanging from some wires as the glass around it sunk into the floor. The lifeform, luckily, remained unconscious, which would make transporting it to an allied ship easy.

"Well, this makes things a little more complicated. Good going there Albina. Now we have to find a way to get... it, into a transport without exposing it to the vacuum of space. How do you propose we do that?" Haley bitched at the cause of the issue, clearly unhappy with her teammates bad habit of pressing any and all buttons.

"Simple, this is military vessel, clearly. If that is true then it should have a hanger bay of its own. We find that and open it up, call in a ship, and place her in." said Albina.

"Well at least you thought of something, and what makes you think it's a 'her'?" asked Riya.

"It's naked, I can clearly see vagina between legs. It's a girl." Was the only explanation anyone needed, as that would make it pretty damn obvious.

"Okay, now we have two objectives. Locate a functional computer terminal and offload any data we can, and find the hanger bay for evac."

"Objective one is pretty easy" Daniel chimed in, "Active computer terminal right over here, appears to be a medical work station. Seems like it's in good condition as far as I can tell. Now the question is, how are we going to get the data? I don't think this thing will take a USB flash drive."

"No need, the terminal itself is useless. We just need its circuitry." Haley stated, pulling out a black box with handles on the edges and what appeared to be small, mechanical arms on one of the faces. She came up to the terminal and bluntly ripped a random panel off of the side.

"You do realize you could have just ripped off some of that circuitry you need." Daniel criticized her commanding officer.

"Yeah, well, point is I didn't and we are pretty much good to go." Haley responded in a clearly agitated voice as she attached the box. As the device magnetically sealed to the terminal, the arms on the inward face went to work, attaching to the wires and acting as an extension to the terminal, essentially tricking the data to flow to it instead.

Not long after that, roughly **FIFTEEN FUCKING MINUTES!** The box displayed a small green light on the outside of it. _About damn time_ was the unanimous thought of everyone present. Soon the box was removed and Fireteam Pegasus found itself kind of wandering around the ship, trying to find the hanger bay. They were at this for a good while till they were interrupted by something they were really hoping to avoid. The alien they were carrying started to wake up.

 **March 8, 22 ABY  
** **Planet : Tinstof-2587b32 (Jupiter Class Giant)  
** **GAR Venator Undaunted, Unknown Space  
** **Internal Corridor, 20 yards from Hanger  
** **Jedi Master Secura**

As Master Secura opened her eyes, she was met with a horrid sight. All around her, she could see the lifeless bodies of clones suspended in midair. So many of her friends, what had become her family, dead before her eyes. However, there was life in this hall of dead.

Secura found herself being carried in a zero-gravity environment by some strange droid, in a group of five total. If they really were droids, then she was in major trouble. Judging from the structure of the corridor around her, she could tell she was rather close to the main hangar. If she could get away from these droids and get to the hanger, perhaps she could escape and call for help.

It was at this point that Secura realized she was completely naked, and that the droids knew she was awake. _This is going to get ugly_ Secura thought as she readied herself to fight for her life. It was at that moment that the droid began to speak, and for the first time in Secura's life, she couldn't understand a language.

"What?" she asked. The response she couldn't understand. "Can you please speak in basic?" she asked. Again, she couldn't understand the droid's response. Now it put its hand out and was reaching for her face, so she reeled her back up as far as she could and slipped out of the grasp of the droid that was carrying her. From there, she made a mad dash for the hanger.

As she ran, the droids gave chase, shouting in the strange language that she couldn't place. It was odd, she had learned every language in the known galaxy. This one bared no resemblance to any of them. However, that pondering could wait, as she entered the hanger to find a most unwanted sight. Nothing but more dead bodies and scrap metal. The hanger had apparently been scuttled. This would pose a major problem, as she had just cornered herself in the hanger, and it wasn't more than half a second before the strange droids joined her in the virtually empty hanger bay.

One of them, the one she assumed was the leader, said something she couldn't understand, then gave the others what she assumed were orders, as the others began to move throughout the hanger, possibly looking for something.

The lead droid began to walk up to her. It was massive, easily seven feet tall, with armor that looked like it could withstand a lightsaber. She soon found herself taking up a defensive stance, which was a little difficult to do in a zero-gravity environment with no gravity boots on. The only thing keeping her on the ground was the force itself, which was very, very weak at the moment.

The droid stopped roughly five feet in front of her. She could tell it was armed with some kind of strange weapon, reminiscent of the slug throwers of old, yet it didn't draw. Rather, it reached up to its head unit and, with a small hiss, the head came off to reveal that it wasn't a droid, but rather a fairly attractive human female. This brought a small sense of relief to the Jedi Master. _Maybe they aren't separatist._

The woman put the helmet she wore under her left arm, and began to speak again while moving her right arm. Still, Secura couldn't understand her.

"I don't know the language you're speaking, so please speak Basic if you can." She asked the tall, armored woman. A look of confusion braced the woman's face for a moment, signifying to Secura that they understood her about as much as she understood them. _Well that's just great!_

Behind her, she suddenly heard the all too familiar sound of the hanger door opening and the selectively permeable shields coming online. She turned for a moment to see out into the stars, and what she saw was just as terrifying as it was beautiful. A gas giant surrounded by what seemed like thousands of starships, all of them easily dwarfing the Republic Warship she half stood, half floated aboard now.

As she looked, the armored woman came up behind her and placed a large, yet non-harmful hand on her shoulder, as another yelled something in their direction that she still couldn't understand. Soon enough, a ship of exotic design came up and flew into the hanger, barely able to fit. Its hull was brownish grey, and on its side was a predatory bird clutching a planet she didn't recognize. As the strange ship's backside opened, the armored woman began to gently nudge her in its direction, obviously wanting her to board.

Finding herself with little other option, she did so, as the other armored people boarded as well. One of them, she noticed was carrying the body of one of the clones. She was about to object as best she could, but was caught off guard by the fact that the ship they were getting on had its own gravity. She nearly fell over, but was caught by the armor-clad woman. She was then gently seated and given some clothes from one of the vessels side compartments.

The clothes she was given was a very plain white shirt made of the softest fabric she had ever felt, and a simple pair of pants. Neither of them fit very well, but Securea was just glad not to be in the nude anymore, especially as it seemed she was about to meet more of these strange humans on one of their many ships, as the vessel began to move out of the hangar bay and towards the biggest ship in this fleet.


	3. Talk in Awe

**Data File :** .

 _File Clearance_ : Level(4)

Please insert pin

* _ACCESS GRANTED*_

begin_file

Fortress Class Starship

Dimensions (From farthest Point)

Length : 80.7Km

Width : 30.9Km

Depth : 30.1Km

Synopsis: The fortress class schematics were retrieved from Forerunner shield world "Oxyi"

Constructed at Joint UNSC/So.S ship yards

Jointly operated by (At minimum) UNSC + So.S + one additional member government

Operated as **Coalition of Allied Spices** vessel, used for diplomatic purposes

Is fully capable of warfare if and when the situation calls for force

Combat Compliment :

Fighters : 12,000 GA-TL3 Longsword-class Interceptor

20,000 Type-47 "Seraph" XMF

15,000 YSS-3500 Saber-class Starfighter

50,000 Type-30 "Banshee" XMF

10,000 Gigas-class fighter-bomber

5,000 F-48 Broadsword XMSF

Mounted Weapons :

8 Series-12 "Super-Heavy MAC" (Mounted)

12 Series-8 "Heavy MAC" (Turret Mount)

14 Type-27 Energy Projector (Turret Mount)

80,000 Mk. 2 Hard Light Long-distance Cannons (Turret Mount)

100,000 Point Defense Hard Light turrets (Turret Mounted)

30,000 Arch-Angel Missile Pod Bays

20 "Rod of Gods" orbital Gravity Bar bays

20,000 Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Deployment Bays (30 Pods Each)

Standard Fleet Composition :

2 CSO-class Supercarrier (So.S operated)

4 Infinity-class Carrier (UNSC operated)

24 strident-class Frigate (UNSC operated [Carried by Infinitys])

30 CFF-class Frigate (So.S operated)

50 Various (Operated by various CoAS members)

Troop Compliment : Various

End File

 **March 8, 2653  
** **Planet : Tinstof-2587b32 (Jupiter Class Giant)  
** **CoAS Fortress-class 'Key of Discovery', Allied Fleet Surrounding unknown vessel  
** **Hanger Bay A-01 Primary Control Station  
** **Arbiter Thel 'Vadam**

Thel stood, slouched over a seat in the hanger control station of A-01 aboard the Key of Discovery. The ship was based upon forerunner designs found roughly seventy-five years ago. It took no less than half a century to complete, along with 19 sister ships, but the end result was very much worth it.

A vessel that showed just how powerful members of the Coalition of Allied Species were, and was capable of both diplomacy and total war. Incorporating extra design elements from each member species during its development, it is capable of housing any lifeform that decides to board it comfortably. However, that was known species, and the entity boarding the vessel now was a complete unknown.

Thel, along with the vessels resident commander, Fleet Master Vuvo 'Gozumai, were watching as a UNSC Pelican began to dock into the Hangar's various lock systems. As the rear ramp came down, they got their first look at the alien from another galaxy. A blue skinned, humanoid entity with tail like appendages growing from its head. If Thel weren't already married, he might have thought she were beautiful, after all, interspecies marriage wasn't uncommon anymore.

"The alien seems to be nervous." Said Thel to his compatriot.

"No, she is just in aw of the size of the Hangar. All present vessels dwarf her's in size after all." Vuvo responded with a massive dash of pride in his voice.

"Possibly, but that is besides the matter. For the time being, I want our Inter-Galactic guest taken care of, and the data off that ship analyzed. There is no point in having her here if we cannot communicate with her. Yaolin, begin work on a translation matrix as soon as you feasibly can." Thel said, his commanding voice booming in the relatively small area.

"Yes sir! Question, what detail composition would you like to accompany out guest?" Asked Yaolin, the ships A.I., who took the form of a Sangheili ultra, which was odd for something based off of the human mind.

Thel thought about it as he watched the alien begin to interact with the hangar crews. He noticed that she felt most comfortable interacting with the humans present. At one point, an Unggoy worker came by, and she practically hid behind one of the Spartans that recovered her. He noticed this to happen no less than three times, each time she half hid behind the same Spartan. Clearly, she trusted said Spartan most out of all other entities present.

"The Spartan she has been staying close to, that will be her shadow for the forseable future." Thel stated.

"Affirmative sir, relaying orders to Spartan-1212 Col. Haley 'Mdama" responded Yaolin.

 _It really is a trend,_ thought Thel as he heard the Spartan's name, _those raised by both Humans and Sangheili almost always become Spartans. It really is inspiring._

With that, The Arbiter began to leave the control center to prepare himself for the eventual conversation he would have with the alien.

 **March 8 22ABY  
** **Planet : Tinstof-2587b32 (Jupiter Class Giant)  
** **CoAS Key of Discovery, Allied Fleet surrounding GAR Undaunted  
** **Really, Really big hangar bay  
** **Jedi Master Secura**

As Secura disembarked from the strange vessel, she found herself in a massive hangar that could easily fit most warships she knew of inside of it. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before her attention was drawn from the sheer size of the vessel she just boarded to the creatures that inhabited it.

A good portion were Human, which was a small relief for Secura, but the rest were species she had never seen nor heard of before. Many tall, slender beings with a four-mandible mouth, a few bird like beings that walked with a slight slouch, and countless... things that wore masks with large backpacks that were barely half her height. That wasn't the end of them, however, as those were just the ones she could see. She had a sinking feeling she would get to see more unknowns as she went deeper into the gargantuan vessel.

This was a relatively stressing event for Secura, as she was in completely unknown territory. She has no idea what they want, or what they will do with her. Luckily, they seemed nice enough, though she would rather not get to close to the stranger aliens, commonly using the armored woman that got her like a wall to conceal herself.

Suddenly, she felt a slight ting in the force, as if a powerful force user had shown himself for a brief instant. Had she not already been feeling around in the force at the time, she likely would have missed it. Looking up, she saw a small dome like structure with windows protruding from silvery blue ceiling. She would have tried to communicate with the person in the room via telepathy, but the force was far too week her for her to do so. It was as if the force was incredibly thin to the point of being near vacuum conditions, metaphorically speaking of course.

As she looked back down, she noticed that one of the bird like beings had come rather close to her and was holding what looked like a hand held scanner with a red cross on it. This startled the jedi and she back-petaled a bit, until she hit the armored woman. The woman kept her from falling and began speaking to the bird thing in the language she couldn't understand. As she listened, she picked up on a few key words and phrases that she partially understood. Most notably was the name of the bird like species. _Kig-yar, hmm, I've never heard of their kind._ She thought as the creature waved its free hand and left, clearly unhappy.

The armored woman then placed her hand on Secura's shoulder again, motioning towards an exit of some kind nearby, saying something in the strange language. She decided it was best to comply with the woman, as without her lightsaber and the force as weak as it is, she wasn't in a position to argue. As they approached the door, it opened automatically, revealing an absolutely massive corridor leading to what appeared to be an industrial elevator.

As they approached the elevator, Secura noticed several things about the ship's architecture, and compared it to the other ships she had seen on her way to this one. Most notably was, while the ships that made up the rest of the fleet appeared to be designed by one species or another, this one seemed to be a joint project, using aspects from all the other vessels. The beauty of the purple vessels and the utilitarian look of the grey vessels being the most predominant. All brought together by that strange silvery blue metal. There were just too many unknowns here, and Secura was become more nervous about it with each passing minute.

The elevator ride was brief, not because it was short, but because it was really fast. Upon exiting, she found herself in yet another corridor, though this one was slightly smaller than the last. She was then guided into a room with a particularly large door. On the other side was what appeared to be a conference room. To be honest though, it was more like an auditorium. She was then guided into another room inside the room and found herself in a much smaller conference room with an oval table and a few soft chairs of varying design. _Ok, this is much better._

 **March 8, 2653  
** **Planet : Tinstof-2587b32 (Jupiter Class Giant)  
** **CoAS Key of Discovery, Allied Fleet surrounding Unknown Vessel  
** **Tertiary Research Lab  
** **Dr. Dag Zuq**

Dr. Zuq is commonly called the "Halsey of the Kig-yar" by his co-workers, and to be honest he quite liked being compared to the legendary human doctor. It was just a shame that he was one of only a few of his kind that were interested in such titles. That, however, is not relevant at this time. What is relevant is the data, equipment, and seemingly human carcass he was studying at the moment.

Already, Zuq was noticing many differences between the studied objects and what was traditionally accepted by the society he was a member of. First, there was the weapon. It seemed to be an ionized plasma weapon, though it was severely under powered and would be easily survived as it would leave nothing but a small burn mark. While it was advanced, it certainly wasn't effective.

As far as the body went, studies showed that it is, essentially human, though features suggested that its appendages were much narrower and frail in comparison to most humans he knew. Though the DNA testing was still being done, Zuq theorized that this was likely the result of a rough Reseeding ship from 100,000 years ago, rather than the independent evolution theory the spartan that brought it in had suggested.

Finally, there was the data. It was written in glyphs, which made translation complicated, but they did bare resemblance to ancient forerunner, which has worked thus far in translating it. Again, likely the result of a crashed reseeding ship. The spoken version was rather simple to translate as well, as it too bared resemblance to ancient forerunner, though with much heavier alterations to it than the written versions.

Thus far, they had discovered that the unknown vessel's name was the Undaunting, and was built for some military known as the Grand Army of the Republic. This Republic, as the data revealed, is a galaxy wide government in civil war with a separatist movement called the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Data suggested that both governments were highly corrupt. What really caught Zuq's attention, however where two things. One, the body was a clone, and two, the alien was apparently some kind of monk entity known as a Jedi, capable of accessing something called the 'Force'.

The second bit, for Zuq, was the most confusing. To start, who gives a monk a military command position, and why would a monk, of all things, accept such a position. The covenant may have been a theocracy, but there was never a significant religious leader in a true military position.

This civilization was clearly troubled in many ways, but it probably is worse now, as computer records show that the ship has been drifting for forty-two years. In reality, that was a very short amount of time for a ship to go from one galaxy to another, but in a civilization, that was a long time, and many things could change.

"Yaolin, is the translation matrix to the alien language complete yet?" Dr. Zuq asked to the A.I. that he had been working with for the last forty-five minutes.

"Nearly complete Doctor. Should be able to communicate with this 'Jedi' in the next five minutes." Responded Yaolin.

"Good, inform The Arbiter as soon as you are done, then, keep me tabbed on the conversation he has with the Jedi." Ordered the good doctor, which made the A.I. give the Sangheili version of a smile, knowing the doctor was planning something, again.

"As you wish Doctor Dag Zuq." Stated Yaolin as he disappeared back into the ship's computers.

 **March 8, 22ABY  
** **Planet : Tinstof-2587b32 (Jupiter Class Giant)  
** **CoAS Key of Discovery, Allied Fleet surrounding GAR Undaunting  
** **Conference Room 1283  
** **Jedi Master Secura**

Nervous and bored are the only things that could describe Aalya Secura's mental state right now. She is onboard an unknown ship, with all but one species on board being unknown, and was made to wait in a conference room with an armored woman she couldn't understand. _Well, at least the chairs are cozy._

A small flash of light appeared in the corner of her eye, and she was surprised to find the hologram of one of the tall, slender creatures. Strangest of all, it began to speak in basic.

"Hello, and welcome onboard the Coalition of Allied Species vessel Key of Discovery. My name is Yaolin, ship's A.I., and for the time being, I will be acting as translator for you. Oh, and may I be the first to welcome you to the Milky Way Galaxy. You are the first Inter-Galactic Visitor we have ever received. You are making history." It said.

 _Different Galaxy, that shouldn't be possible. Yeah, the hyperdrive malfunctioned, but there is no way it could have sent me to another galaxy. Could it?_ She thought until the 'A.I.' started speaking again.

"Right now, you are joined by Spartan-1212 Col. Haley 'Mdama of the UNSC Spartan Corps. She will be acting as your shadow for the foreseeable future. Soon, you will be greeted by the Arbiter Thel 'Vadam, leader of the Swords of Sanghelios. Once he is here, you will be free to ask any questions you would like, so long as you answer some of our own." It said.

"Well, if that's the case, can I ask how you learned my language so fast?" Secura asked, curious about how an Artificial Intelligence was able to decipher an entire language in such a short amount of time. A.I.s were just code, it would take one at least a month to decode and translate a language of any kind.

"Simple, we off loaded all data off your ship, and compared it to all known languages. The closest match was Ancient Forerunner. We translated it to all modern languages from there." It responded with the tone of a seasoned scientist.

"Well then..." she said, trailing off as she didn't have a good response to that.

A moment later, the door to the room opened once more to allow another one of the tall, slender aliens through. This one was dressed in ornate golden armor with ruins and inscriptions decorating the surface. Around it, it carried an air of command, pride, and honor, yet she could still tell through the force that it had a softer side to it somewhere.

"Ma'am, allow me to introduce Arbiter Thel 'Vadam, leader of the Swords of Sanghelios and representative of the Sangheili people." Said the A.I. Yaolin

 _So this is their leader, or at the very least one of them._ She thought to herself as this 'Arbiter' gave a small bow and sat down in one of the oddly formed and larger seats.

As it began to speak in the strange language, Yaolin translated for her. Apparently, it thought it was nice to meet her, which was a comforting thing to hear, as it meant they probably didn't intend to harm her.

"To start off, I would like to ask if your current accommodations are acceptable. We are unaware of your particular needs, as the data from your vessel lacked that information." The Arbiter asked.

"Well, they are cozy, but rather boring. Not much to do around here, is there?" she responded, trying to keep the mood light.

"There is plenty to do aboard the ship, we just want to get to know more about you, and frankly, your intensions, before allowing you to wander freely." The Arbiter said.

"Understandable, however, there is something I would like to ask. Your A.I. off handedly said that I am in another galaxy from my own. Is that true?"

"It is, I'm afraid. According to data from your ship, you have been in a stasis of some kind for forty-two years. During that time, it drifted from the Andromeda Galaxy, that being where we believe you came from, here to the Milky Way Galaxy."

"Forty-two years! How is that possible? What happened to the crew? Do you know?"

"I'm afraid we don't know. When it drifted into this system, the fleet used gravity emitters to halt it. When the Spartans boarded, all persons found aboard were already deceased. Though, the vessel must have seen serious combat before beginning its drift, as there were multiple hull breaches."

"I need to go back" Secura said, to the minor amusement to The Arbiter.

"Why must you go back?" He asked in a coy tone.

"I need to assist in the war effort. The Separatists cannot be allowed to win. I need to prevent it." She responded in urgency.

"Hmm, yes about that, the data we recovered about that war clearly shows that it wasn't going to last much longer. It seemed the Confederacy you were fighting was experiencing political issues, resulting in depletions of military resources faster than they could be replaced. It is unlikely that it even lasted another year after your departure." He stated matter-of-factly.

"Well... that would be good, I suppose. It did seem unstable from the start." Secura said.

"Naturally, governments formed during a war never stand long. It is better to start that part after the war is won for longevity." Spoke up the Armored woman known as Haley.

"Ah, well, if that is the case, then, well... ... should we discuss history?" Secura asked, at this point very unsure of how to proceed.

"No need, we already have a complete account from your vessel. A rather interesting one at that. If you are curious about ours, you will be given access to such data in your quarters. If you have trouble with any of that, just ask Yaolin. He is there to assist you."

"I get the feeling you are trying to keep this short."

"That I am. While I am very curious about you and your civilization, I'm afraid I have a multitude of pressing matters to attend to shortly. For the time being, this is just a curtesy call. Though, I do hope we can continue this conversation in the future. In the meantime, the leaders of the Unified Earth Government are on their way here, but won't arrive for some time. Until then, you are free to wander civilian areas of the ship. Spartan-1212 here will be your shadow and escort for the time being." Stated The Arbiter as he lifted himself up and began to walk to the door again.

As he came to the door, he stopped and turned his head back too her to say, "Oh, and we do intend to travel to your galaxy soon, so don't worry about not going back. It will just take time to prepare before we embark." And with that, he left.

Secura looked over to the 'Spartan' that was to be here escort on the massive ship to see a small smile on her face.

"Well, anything you would like to do first?" asked the Spartan

"I am rather famished. Do you know where I could get something to eat?" Secura responded nervously.

"Of course, I know just the place. Yaolin, transfer translation matrix to my armor, I'm going to need it." She said as she got up.

As the Spartan led the Jedi out into the corridors once more, Secura once again found herself admiring the sheer size and architecture of the vessel. They were walking for a good three minutes until they came to some kind of terminal. The Spartan punched in some codes, and soon a portal appeared between two spires.

"Follow me, and don't be afraid of the portal, it's completely safe. Fastest way to get around actually." Said the Spartan to the visibly shocked Jedi, as she began to step into the vortex and disappear.

Secura followed her in and found herself reappearing in another corridor that over looked...

 _IS THAT A CITY?!_ Secura thought as she looked down upon the civilian residential district of the Key of Discovery.

This is going to take some getting used to.

 **March 8, 22ABY  
** **Planet : Morellia  
** **Rebel Alliance to Restore the Republic vessel 'Home One ', Orbital repair station  
** **Home One Bridge  
** **General Luke Skywalker**

Battle after battle, engagement after engagement, ship after ship, the empire has continuously worn down at the Alliance's ability to wage war. This was a fact that brought great displeasure and despair to many within the Rebel Alliance. Especially to its supreme commander, Luke Skywalker.

As of this time, he stood aboard the bridge of the alliance flag ship Home One , built to replace the original Home One that was destroyed above Endor. The battle of Endor was easily the biggest hope the Alliance ever had, and ended up being one of their greatest blunders ever.

Luke was there, he was on the second Death Star. He stood before the emperor of the Galactic Empire. He had the chance to kill the Dark Lord of the sith once and for all. In the end, he hesitated, and this gave his father the opening he needed to cut off more of Luke's arm. The second Death Star may have been destroyed in the end, but it was considered a failure as it didn't kill Sidious.

This has always brought Luke shame, even if that shame came only from himself. Nobody blamed him for his failure, except himself. And now, eighteen years later, he was still beating himself up over it, albeit not as much.

Now, he stood in light meditation aboard his flag ship. He was looking through the force for anything. Anything that may help him put an end to the Empire and their endless assault on the Free Galaxy. For many minutes, he found nothing but darkness in the galaxy. As he was about to give up, he saw light. But this light was different, as it came from beyond the galactic rim. In the realm of the force, he approached the light, and what he saw was a Blue skinned Twi'lek female, a tall, slender alien with four mandibles, and a heavily armored... thing. For some reason that he just could not place, they radiated the one thing he and his forces desperately needed.

Hope.

 **Stupid Authors Note :  
** **So, I received a review that I am making the Arbiter too soft of a character. Looking back, I do agree, but I have no regrets.  
** **I intend to make him the real version of what Palpatine had made himself look to be, a strong, yet kind galactic ruler.  
** **Also, to the guy who said that in the story 'Spartans' should be kept a secret from the Alliance, I say no. Why? Because in current Halo Cannon, Spartans are well known by the public, and rather hard to hide. It would not be worth the trouble of hiding them on the part of the UNSC/So.S  
** **That is all, my friendly Bastards. I will see you all in the next shitty ass chapter I write for this train wreck of a story.**


	4. Then and Now

_The Fighter goes to combat for a selfish reason. They seek nothing but self satisfaction from the harm of another, to prove their own strength._

 _The Warrior is no better, going to battle for the selfish gain of glory and honor, that which they shall never obtain._

 _The Soldier, however, is different. They fight not for themselves, they fight for the people they are charged to protect. Unlike the Fighter and Warrior, they do not hate their enemy. They simply defy the enemy, so they may never pose a threat to the Soldier's charge._

 _There has never in history been a more noble, honorable, selfless, and respectable combatant than the Soldier, for they are the ones who sacrifice themselves, so others don't have too._

 _-High Prophet of Fairness, San'shyuum leader and poet on the nature of the combatant_

* * *

 **March 8, 22ABY  
** **In Slip Space Transit  
** **CoAS Key of Discovery, on rout to Trevelyan  
** **Assigned Personal Quarters  
** **Jedi Master Secura**

To say that Master Aayla Secura was taken aback by these extra-galactic people would be a gross understatement. She was absolutely fascinated with them. The fact that they have the capacity to create ships that dwarf entire fleets was impressive enough on its own, then she read the current known history of this galaxy they call 'The Milky Way'.

God-like species, evil parasites, artificial galactic extinction, artificial repopulation, and one hundred thousand years of rebuilding. She was clearly in the midst of a coalition of civilizations that could easily rival and dwarf the entirety of her own galaxies' history. One thing, though, had her attention far more than the historical records she had been provided to read.

"mhmmmmmm..." was the only thing audible from Secura's mouth as she devoured another Squouch fruit, which was apparently native to the Sangheili home world. _The food in this place puts everything else to shame_ she thought as she swallowed.

Haley, the Spartan Soldier that had acted as her chaperone on the ship for the last couple of hours, had been kind enough to take her to some of the best places to eat on this floating city they call a ship. She had been taken to a restaurant known as _Quark's_ and was treated to some of the best hospitality she had ever seen. Furthermore, for giant, hairy apes, those Jiralhanae can really cook. The customers had been a group of every species on the ship, according to her escort.

To be honest, Secura was actually having a bit of fun, which she didn't expect to have. Unfortunately, the mood had been ruined when an Ung'goy servant came to ask if they could bring her ship into a docking berth aboard their ship. This reminded Secura of the fact that roughly eight hundred of her clone allies had been killed aboard that ship by unknown means. It brought her mood to a really sour point. Of course, she said yes to the request, but the sadness it had brought her to a very important question.

"Do you know what happened to the Undaunting?" she had asked the small creature that was barely two thirds her hight.

"The full events of what caused its current state are unknown, though it is clear that it was in a major battle, judging by the multiple hull breaches and scorched sections of armor. We will inform you when we have learned more about what happened." It had replied.

With that, it left, and Secura was now in a bad mood. While Haley escorted her to the quarters they were providing her, she was brought by a window, and what was outside was impressive. She saw two of the smaller, grey ships pulling her once mighty war ship towards a large opening in the side of the Discovery.

Soon there after, she was in her accommodations for the time being, and she was astonished. It was like a high cost apartment on Corusaunt. It had a small kitchen, a medium living space, a small hallway and two rooms. She was very happy to find that the first one in the hall was a full bathroom designed for humanoid creatures, complete with a bathtub. That, she couldn't wait to use.

The second room was a bedroom with a double bed with unbelievably soft sheets, as well as a small work desk in a little crevice in the wall. On the desk was a small device that seemed like a miniature holo-communicator, which it was, and an assortment of tools in a compartment on the right side. As she sat down, she got frightened for a second as a display of some kind suddenly appeared in front of her. It was clearly a projection, but it felt solid to the touch. Haley explained to her that it was a hard light terminal, and she could use it like any other computer, and change the layout to her preference.

As Secura began to fiddle with the terminal, she was beginning to wonder how these people could be so prepared for her. It was as if they already knew everything she was going to ask. Honestly, it slightly scared her, but more so annoyed her. Even though she knew she needed it, she still didn't much care of having things explained to her constantly.

A few moments later, she was alone in her new quarters, having found some fruits to eat in the kitchen area, and was reading through the history of this new galaxy.

She couldn't wait to share this with the Order when she got back.

* * *

 **March 8, 22ABY  
** **Planet : Zygerria  
** **Rebel Alliance to Restore the Republic NebulaB-class starship 'Continental', in orbit  
** **Continental Bridge  
** **Captain Xian Boringson**

Things weren't looking good for Boringson as he stared down an Imperial Star Destroyer through the glass view-ports of his bridge. The Empire had suddenly appeared in orbit around Zygerria roughly two hours ago, and caught the local Rebel fleet of a mere twelve ships of guard. The Imperial force, which was two hundred strong, had lain waist to half the Rebel formation within five minutes. The only reason the other six ships hadn't been destroyed yet was because they had dived down into the planet's atmosphere long enough to fool the Imperial's sensors into thinking they had burned up.

Now, how the Imperial commanders feel for this trick, which was honestly so easy to spot a child could tell it was fake, would likely never be known by Boringson. What he did know, however, was that he needed to destroy these ships. Thus far, he had managed to get two of them down, but at the cost of heavy damage to an allied ship, as well as several contingents of star fighters being shot down.

Currently, he was looking at the command super structure of the Imperial Flag Ship. More specifically, he was staring straight at the bridge. He could tell, even though he couldn't really see through the glass, that the Imperial Captain on that ship was looking right back at him with the most smug-ass grin on his face.

"Imperial bastards." Was his only thought on the matter, as he turned to address his crew.

"Listen up, we are never going to win this. Our only option is to jump out of system in a random direction. Nav! Set a course." He practically yelled, to be heard above the sound of turbo-blaster fire bombarding the Continental's failing shields.

In response, he got no words, but only action. Soon, the Continental found itself quickly breaking away from the heavily one sided battle, going for a random point in space, and for a moment, it looked as if they would actually escape. But then, in jumped the bane of every Rebel Captains existence. An _Executor-class Dreadnaught_.

"Ah kriffen' hell..." Were Boringson's last words as his ship crashed into the significantly larger vessel that had appeared directly into the Continental's flight path.

Soon, all that was left of the Continental and its crew was a broken down, flaming chunk of scrap metal drifting wildly through space.

* * *

 **Yo, short chapter, I know. A shit one too! But, lets be honest here, what did you expect?  
** **Anyways, just a filler thing that I wrote up. I have big plan's for this story in the future, but the problem is the bit between now and the future.  
** **Also, don't expect regular updates. I couldn't keep a schedule if someone else was doing everything for me.**


	5. Preparing for Departure

**March 9, 22ABY  
** **Planet : Coruscant  
** **Imperial Royal Palace  
** **Throne Room  
** **Darth Sideous**

Sideous was in a particularly bad mood today.

This morning, he woke to find that his usual breakfast was not there. The serving droid had stopped working. He also found that his royal spa's hot spring system had a heating coil failure. Then, to top it all off, he had an array of meetings and assemblies to attend throughout the day to fulfill the tedious task of running the Galactic Empire.

However, none of that was the what put him in this bad a mood. No, it was the dream he had last night. A dream that seemed all too real, and one that depicted events he didn't quite care for.

In that dream, he saw a tall, heavily armored humanoid standing face to face with him, a strange weapon of some kind aiming at his face. In the background, hundreds of Imperial-class Star Destroyers falling from the sky in flaming wrecks, as a few, much larger vessels descended through the sky, all of them unscathed. But to top it all off, he saw Vader and his son standing behind the armored being, staring at him. That stare...

Sideous pushed the thoughts of his apprentice to the side and focused on the ships he had seen in the dream. They were completely unfamiliar to him, which was impossible. He was always up to date on the latest of Star Ship technology, as well as versed in the full history of space fairing technology. It was the only hobby he could maintain outside of his role as Emperor.

That begged the question, what were they.

He began to dive into the force for answers. He didn't expect to find anything useful from this, it was only to satisfy his curiosity. Unfortunately, the Force had other things in mind, as it presented him with the image of a humanoid in armor similar to that of the figure from his dream. This humanoid was surrounded by a ring of some kind, that looked as if it held a planet within its inner surface.

This only served to put Emperor Palpatine in an even worse mood.

* * *

 **March 9, 2653  
** **Planet : Trevelyan Dyson Sphere  
** **CoAS Key of Discovery  
** **Bridge  
** **Fleet Master Vuvo 'Gozumai**

Vuvo is a proud warrior in every sense of the word. We lived by the Sangheili Warrior's Code without deviation. It was common for him to be found honing his swordsmanship skills in one of the numerous sparing halls scattered throughout his 80,700m long vessel. Today was no different, as he stood in the captain's nest of the bridge of the CoAS Key of Discovery, having arrived there five minutes before he was scheduled to, as always.

He observed as his bridge crew, mostly consisting of Sangheili and Humans, worked tirelessly to maintain and organize the ship's millions of systems. Through the view ports in front of him, he could see the deadly beauty that is slip space, a dimension of reality where the correlation of time and space is undone, allowing for a ship to travel a large distance in little time without having to actually accelerate more than is necessary for the vessel to enter slip space in the first place.

This was all routine for the aging Fleet Master, as he has seen it hundreds, if not thousands of times. What wasn't routine, however, were two elements. The first being that his ship was en-route for the de facto capital of the Coalition of Allied Species, and the second being the rather beautiful blue skinned alien from another galaxy standing next to and slightly behind him.

"Helm! Pull us out of Slip Space!" Vuvo ordered in a half yell, so as to be heard over the noise.

"Sir, yes sir!" replied the human helm officer who began to manipulate the hard light terminal before him.

Soon enough, the back drop of slip space was replaced with the back drop of a giant metal structure floating in space. As he looked back at the inter-galactic alien with him, he was pleased to see that her face was that of utter amazement. Clearly, she had never seen a Dyson Sphere before.

"Pick your jaw up, my guest. You have seen nothing as of yet." Said Vuvo to the alien known as Secura.

Secura looked at him, speaking in her language, which Yaolin automatically translated.

"I have seen a city within a ship dwarfing any other, housing over eighteen different species, only one of which I recognize, and I have seen nothing yet?" she replied, obviously dumbfounded by the casual tone of the being before her.

Vuvo, for his part, simply looked back towards the view port, as did his guest. Soon, the entrance into the facility began to open. As his ship entered, the two beings present were presented with a view unlike any other. Inside the gargantuan structure, was a large, yellow star, surrounded by seven ring-like structures. On the inner surface of the sphere was vastly varying terrain, divided into sections that supplement specific species. Now they were inside the shield world of Trevelyan.

"Come, I do believe there is someone here who wishes to speak with you, while the ship resupplies." Vuvo remarked to Secura, as she was again in awe of what she saw.

"Okay..." was all she said. From behind her, the Spartan known as Haley, dawned in full armor, waved her hand in front of the extra-galactic alien to grab her attention away from the Halos she was staring at.

"Common, you will get to have a closer look at Halo soon. Madam President is there waiting for you." Haley told Secura, as she began to lead her out of the bridge.

Vuvo simply looked on as the two left his bridge. As soon as they were out of sight, he set about the task of organizing the resupply of the Discovery, as well as its accompanying fleet. This was going to take a while.

* * *

 **March 9, 2653  
** **Planet : Trevelyan Dyson Sphere  
** **Halo installation 01, inside Trevelyan  
** **Control Citadel  
** **President Megan Harper**

Megan stared out of the window onto the snowy mountain the Citadel was built into, off in the distance, the curvature of Halo clearly visible. It never ceased to amaze the Leader of Humanity that such a devastating weapon can be so beautiful. That, however, was not the matter in the for front of her mind.

In just a few minutes time, she is to speak to the first extra-galactic visitor to the Milky Way Galaxy. From what she had been informed, the alien is a blue skinned humanoid female with 'Head-Tails'. She is apparently most cooperative with humans, likely because there are humans, or a species very similar to humans, in the Andromeda Galaxy. She seems to be entranced with a few basic commodities in society, in particular Earth Cotton Clothing and Sanghelios Squouch Fruit, an odd combination. According to the communique she got from Thel, she is also eager to return to her home galaxy, which would be ideal, as she could hopefully act as an intermediary when making contact with the local governments. Over all, it was vital to get this alien in an ideal mental position to assist in proper first contact.

 _Her she comes..._ thought Megan as she watched a Phantom come in to land on the platform outside. She proceeded to make her way to the entrance of the massive hall that is the main chamber of the Halo Control Citadel.

Soon, the massive, silver doors began to slowly open, revealing a blue skinned alien and a Spartan chaperone. Putting a friendly smile on, President Megan Harper of the Unified Earth Government approached the duo. Upon the approach, the alien seemed to become a little surprised, while her Spartan counterpart snapped to a crisp salute that only a Spartan could give.

Directly looking at the Spartan, Megan said, "At ease Soldier.", with the expected result of a more relaxed soldier. Now turning her attention to the alien directly, she tapped a small button hidden cleverly in the cuff of her left sleeve to activate the translator, and said, "Hello, I'm Megan Harper, President of the Unified Earth Government. May I say it is a pleasure and honor to meet you."

The alien, for her part, seemed to become far more amazed than she already was, which was an odd response to receive. Said alien then spook her own greeting. "Hello to you, ma'am. I am Jedi Master Aalya Secura of the Galactic Republic. It is pleasant to meet you as well. I must say, however, I am amazed that a structure such as this exists. Its beauty puts even the Jedi Temple to shame."

"Well, there are likely many who would disagree with you on that. Have your accommodations been pleasant thus far?" Responded Megan to the slightly odd statement.

"Far better than I expected, actually. I feel as though I have been treated like a Queen." Said Secura, thinking back on the luxuries she was given that had been better than anything she had ever had before.

"Anything specific you enjoyed? Mabey something that would become popular in your galaxy?" Asked Megan, hoping to get some information on possible trade opportunities.

"Everything." Secura responded bluntly, to the shock of Harper.

With a blatantly suppressed face now plastered on the human leader's face, she said, "Okay then. Please, follow me. We have a room set aside for this discussion. I would like to ask a favor of you."

"A favor?" Secura asked, unsure of what said favor would be, several ideas running through her mind at once.

"Yes, I have been informed that you wish to return to your galaxy as soon as possible. We would happily arrange that for you, as we intend to travel there ourselves, now that we have a reason to. In exchange, I would like to ask you to act as an intermediary. Someone familiar to the locals to introduce us." Replied Harper in detail.

Now thinking about it, Secura could understand why these people would want her to act as an intermediary. They can't just walk into a completely new galaxy and expect to be welcomed with open arms, especially with the size of their ships being larger than any in her home galaxy. Her presence and testimony to their good will would hopefully keep the galactic community from reacting harshly to their arrival.

"Intermediary work is the true calling of the Jedi Order, I would be happy to assist you, even if I got nothing in return." Secura responded, accepting the request, as any proper Jedi would do.

"Great, though you are getting something in return. It would be rude of us to give you no thanks after the help." Megan stated.

"If that is your wish... I must ask, how did your peoples' make these things? Even the most skilled engineers and builders in my galaxy could never even fathom how to create such beauty on such a large scale." Secura questioned, stunned by the natural beauty of the ring world, as they pass a window to the outside world.

"Well, if you must know, we didn't build them. They were constructed by an ancient species known as the Forerunners over one hundred thousand years ago. We only recently managed to find them all and bring them here to study. At the current rate of research and development, it won't be long before the Coalition of Allied Species can make Halos of their own, but that is still a way off." Megan educated secura, still holding off on the Halo Rings' true purpose.

"Intresting..." Secura said, as the trio enter into a small side room.

* * *

 **March 9, 2653  
** **Planet : Trevelyan Dyson Sphere  
** **CoAS Key of Discovery, in dry-dock  
** **Tertiary Research Lab  
** **Dr. Dag Zuq**

Going over the DNA test results and comparing them with the modern Human genome, there was no doubt in Zuq's mind.

"Ancient Human... with trace elements of Forerunner, mixed in with a hodge podge of unknown genetics." He thought aloud, though no one could hear the Kig-yar scientist's ramblings.

Adenine to Thymine, Cytosine to Guanine, Adenine to Thymine, Cytosine to Guanine, repeatedly. This is a genetic coding system that Zuq is unbelievably familiar with. Genetics is one of the easiest systems to understand, at least in his opinion, and for how unbelievably complex the Human Gene Pool is, he managed to memorize it. The same can be said for all species except the Huragok, because the Huragok don't have any genes.

This cadaver is clearly a descendent of the peoples from the Milky Way Galaxy. However, the unknown codons are clear indications of minor cross breading with native peoples from the Andromeda Galaxy. If anything, this is a clear sign that the species in the Andromeda Galaxy, or at least some of them, are fuckable.

"Fuckable..." Zuq muttered.

"What was that you said, Zuq?" asked an all too familiar voice, accompanied with the sliding of the automatic doors and footsteps on the cold, metallic floor.

"Fleet Master Vuvo! Ahh, nothing, just thinking aloud." Panicked the Discovery's head science officer, as the highest-ranking person on board came into his favorite laboratory.

"Are you sure, because I'm quite sure I heard something relating to possible reproduction." Vuvo teased his Kig-Yar subordinate.

"Well, it's well known that the basic reproductive organs here in our galaxy are generally compatible, male to female. It seems that it may be the same case in the Andromeda Galaxy." Responded the embarrassed Aves-like being. "There are several unknown genetic codons in the cadaver's genetic structure, but the core bulk of said genetic structure is clearly human."

"Hmm, so the human presence in Andromeda is originating from the Milky Way. Is it possible we could find entities descendent from Sangheili or Kig-Yar in Andromeda when we begin exploration operations?" Vuvo questioned the Doctor, as usual trying to stump the being.

"It is a solid possibility, but not one hundred percent." Responded the doctor, now regaining his posture.

"Of course. Though it would be interesting to see the culture that would develop in a separated population of our many species." Added the Fleet Master.

"Yes, but there are a few parts of our cultures directly caused by an RNA codon. For example, Sangheili's innate sense of honor, or human's drive to develop more and more." Concluded Zuq.

"Well, I suppose we will see. The ship is having an over haul of its slip-space drive. Once that is completed and the fleet is fully resupplied, we will be underway to the Andromeda galaxy." Finalized Vuvo, to the surprise of Zuq.

"Don't we need to have a meeting of the galactic leaders before such a mission is enitiated?" Zuq questioned. Something like this should take weeks, if not months to plan out before being executed, yet the mission has been finalized in less than a day. Something was off.

"Normally, yes. However, the precedence of this discovery, along with substantial evidence of extra-galactic life, has propelled the So.S and UEG to take immediate action in exploration and diplomacy. And besides, it's not unknown that said governments are the only ones with any real say in the matter." Vuvo answered casually, as if the political inequality were nothing important.

"Yeah..." Zuq muttered, not liking said inequality. At least he was under the domain of the UEG, rather than his own people's government. A fact attributed to the fact that he was born on a human colony, and under human law was granted automatic citizenship and all the rights that came with it.

With an acknowledging grunt, the Fleet Master turned and exited the room, presumably to attend other matters. Leaving Zuq to continue to ponder on the state of his home galaxy, and the prospect of introducing themselves to a potentially unstable galactic neighbor. Well, if worst comes to pass, at least their ships seem to be poorly designed, and would be easy to destroy.

* * *

 **March 9, 2653  
** **Planet : Trevelyan Dyson Sphere  
** **CoAS Key of Discovery, in dry-dock  
** **Internal Maintenance Hangar 3  
** **Manager-class Engineer Duyziz**

For an Ung'goy, Duyziz was considered extremely successful. An engineer aboard a Fortress-class starship. Very successful. However, never did Duyziz expect he would be analyzing and repairing a starship from an entirely different galaxy.

However, there is one thing that he can agree on that everyone else aboard the ship has been saying. Whoever the engineers in the Andromeda Galaxy are, they need to take a course in proper starship design.

Blantantly exposed bridges.

Highly concentrated areas of defense.

Not enough gun emplacements for the ships size.

Basic Carbon-steel hull.

Extremely weak shields.

It's like this ship was designed without any concern for durability, poor defense (let alone offense), disregard for radiation defense. It's like the ship was designed for the soul purpose of looking nice, which, in Duyziz's opinion, it failed at miserably.

If there was one thing Duyziz was looking forward to in the Andromeda galaxy, it was the chance to lecture their engineers on proper starship design.

* * *

 **Here is a long-ish chapter. Be happy.**


End file.
